Photo gallery: The colour and excitement of the 2017 Milan-San Remo

Milan-San Remo is very much a race in two parts. The first: a 240km slow burn, the riders making their way south from Milan to the Mediterranean, then west along the coast. The second: a frenetic final 50km with five short climbs, the last two of which can help decide the race.

The first six hours of Saturday’s 2017 edition weren’t the most entertaining racing we’ve ever seen, but the final 30km more than made up for it. A devastating attack from Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) on the Poggio — the race’s final ascent — tore the field asunder, with just Michal Kwiatkowski (Sky) and Milan-San Remo debutant Julian Alaphilippe (QuickStep Floors) able to follow.

Sagan was left to do most of the work in the leading trio as the finish approached, and was ultimately pipped in the sprint by a desperate lunge from Kwiatkowski. While Sagan was beaten, his efforts to animate the race only served to show, once again, why he’s regarded as one the most entertaining (and undoubtedly one of the strongest) riders in world cycling.